Gender and Catholic Middle-Class Identity, 1940–60

The Mexican Miracle, a period of rapid economic growth, ushered in a popular culture that was predicated on consumption of new media (such as movies, radio, and television), new fashions, and new household goods. This popular culture was widely embraced by the rapidly expanding middle-class. Middle-class families were newly affluent, well-educated, and wanted to participate in the cosmopolitan culture promoted by the media and advertising. Yet there was some pushback as well. Many Catholics objected to aspects of the new media, new fashions, and new customs. They saw consumer culture as fraught with moral danger, and sought to create an alternative. Catholic women were central to the construction of an alternative consumer culture. This paper will explore how Catholic women’s lay organizations (the UFCM and JFCM) hoped to create a middle-class Mexican identity that eschewed what they considered the vulgar sexuality promoted by movies and fashion magazines. Catholic women created educational programs, alternative magazines, formed clubs and lead activities (such as morality campaigns) designed to promote what they saw as an appropriate middle-class life. This paper will argue that the boundaries of this vision were created and policed by women.